Broadway Black

Colman Domingo on Live & Outspoken

Colman Domingo on Live & Outspoken

Playwright, stage and screen actorColman Domingo has given stellar performances in a broad array of roles that showcase the breadth and depth of his acting range and have earned him award nominations and critical acclaim. Domingo is slated to sit down for a conversation about art and art making within the Black theater with stage director Patricia McGregor to kick off the 2015-16 season of 651 Arts’ LIVE & OUTSPOKEN series on Sunday, October 4.

It’s fitting that the conversation will include a discussion on Black theatre as Domingo, who starred in the historical dramas “The Butler” and “Selma,” is no stranger to topics regarding equal rights for African Americans and the LGBT community. Last December, he was photographed with “Selma” director Ava DuVernay and fellow “Selma” cast members David Oyelowo, E. Roger Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Omar Dorsey, John Lavelle, Stephan James, Kent Faulcon, Lorraine Toussaint, Andre Holland, and Tessa Thompson at the film’s New York premiere wearing “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts and raising their arms in the “don’t shoot” pose in a striking statement against police brutality.

In a previous interview for “The Advocate,” Domingo, who is gay, spoke on his role in social activism. “What my community asks of me, what the world asks of me, is to be useful and to use my gifts, and to hopefully shine a light on something which hasn’t been said, or to write something I feel needs to be added to the experiences not only of African-Americans, but of humans and human nature,”

The Tony nominated actor is currently appearing in a recurring role as “Strand” in the AMC series “Fear the Walking Dead” and is slated to appear in the Cinemax series “The Knick.” Domingo’s stage credits include Scottsboro Boys, for which he received his Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. He also was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical when the show opened in London. Domingo also starred as “Billy Flynn” in the Broadway revival of Chicago. He most recently directed the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s production of August Wilson‘sSeven Guitars.

Domingo also is a heralded playwright, penning a one-man autobiographical play A Boy and His Soul, for which he won GLAAD Award: Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off–Broadway. He also wrote and starred in Wild with Happy in which New York Times reviewer Charles Isherwood called him a “ magnetic, versatile actor.”

In addition to his roles in “Selma” and “The Butler,” Domingo also has appeared in “Lincoln,” and the Spike Lee films “Red Hook Summer,” “Passing Strange,” and “Miracle at St. Ana.”

The Live & Outspoken series features live music, theatrical readings, dance, and provocative interviews and conversation. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Public Theater Will Present Hercules Musical & Hercules Is Black!

We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when. Back in 2017, we reported that a musical adaptation of the Disney movie Hercules would be headed to Broadway. Now we can confirm that is somewhat true.

Hercules will be the latest Disney musical to be made for the stage and will play Off-Broadway at the Public Theater’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park. As the final show of the Shakespeare in the Park season theater season performances will run August 31 through September 8 with a reading set to take place in April.

The role of Hercules will be played by a Black actor, according to the casting notice

The musical will include the Oscar-nominated “Go the Distance, along with other songs from the 1997 animated film by Alan Menken & David Zippel. Presented through an arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, the show will be directed by Lear deBessonet. The creative team also includes a book by Kristoffer Diaz, & choreography by Chase Brock.

Before Hercules, Kenny Leon will direct the Much Ado About Nothing May 21 through June 23 to begin the Shakespeare in the Park season.

Lynn Nottage Today, Tomorrow and Beyond

Lynn Nottage’s 2017 Tony Award nominated play Sweat ended its Broadway run at Studio 54 on June 25. We weren’t ready to say goodbye to Sweat, and we’re definitely not ready to say goodbye to Lynn Nottage, leaving us to wonder what’s next for the two-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright?

Not just any musical, but an adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s book, The Secret Life of Bees. Book by Nottage, music by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly’s Last Jam) and direction by Sam Gold (Fun Home).

Nottage’s first musical follows the story of Lilly Owens, a white teen growing up in 1960’s South Carolina and her Black caretaker Rosaleen. After Rosaleen is hospitalized following an attempt to vote, she and Lily do their best to escape the harsh realities of their respective lives in the Jim Crow South, and happen upon a bee farm. “It sang to me” Nottage said of adapting Kidd’s book to a musical, “Every page I saw a song.”

The Secret Life of Bees will be presented as a workshop production at the Powerhouse Theater from July 27-29, apart of the New York Stage and Film’s 2017 season.

Finally, for the 2017/2018 season, Nottage’s play Mlima’s Tale will make it’s world premiere at The Public Theater and run from March 27 through May 20, 2018. Mlima’s Tale follows the story of Mlima, an african elephant caught between freedom and the

From a site-specific performance installation, to her first musical, ending with another show at The Public Theater… Lynn Nottage has given us a lot to look forward to following her Broadway debut, and we will be ready. Sitting front and center.